August Council Meeting Minutes

The Winston County Natural Resources Council Meeting was held at 9:00 a.m. at the U. S. Forest Service Office in Double Springs on August 16, 2012.  Present were Johnna Franks, Allison Cochran, LaVerne Matheson, Mike Henshaw, James Burnett, Carl Godsey, and Andy Baril.

Johnna reported that there is a balance of $6,250.51 in the treasury.

The following items were discussed:

• Fires in the Western U. S.
• Unusually high occurrence of lightening in the area.
• There have been a number of building fires where lightening was suspected.
• Problem "hang out" areas on the lake where vandalism, trespassing, and illegal dumping are a problem.
• PLM Workshop-Johnna reported that 55 loggers are registered for the Friday, August 17, workshop.  Several council members volunteered to help with setup Thursday afternoon at 3:00.  Other members will be present on Friday to assist with registration, setup, and food serving.
• Grants are being prepared to submit to the Winston County Commission for various council projects.  These grants will be submitted this week.
• Reviewed three extension publications that are available free of charge: Common Birds of Prey in Alabama; Lost, Abandoned, or Orphaned Deer Fawns: and the Coosa County Creeks Trail Guide.
• LaVerne gave a report on Winston County Smith Lake Advocacy Inc. activities.  A meeting was held recently with several local, and state level officials concerning water pollution concerns statewide.  One of the chief concerns is the lack of regulation of waste water treatment systems.  He stated that there are over 5,000 homes around Smith Lake and even a small percentage of wastewater treatment system failures would have a significant negative impact on water quality.  He said further meetings would be held to seek action on this problem.
• Regulations on pumping water from Smith Lake.
• Rain Barrel workshop.
• Friends of Clear Creek group that is working to protect the Clear Creek watershed.
• Wireless Alert System-James Burnett
• James Burnett will host the next meeting of the WCNRC, where we will tour the new Emergency Operations Center.  That meeting will be held on Thursday, September 20. 
• Deer and Wild Turkey Workshop to be held at Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge in Decatur on September 15-Andy Baril
• PLM Workshop in Walker County September 26-Andy Baril.
• Houston Recreation Area is closed.  Only the boat ramp at Houston is open.
• James Burnett encouraged everyone to sign up for the Yellow Dot Program.  Each town hall in the county has a site that can produce a packet that can help first responders treat auto accident victims more effectively.

Mike Henshaw
Secretary, WCNRC